Pact with JMM stays, says Congress

September 9th, 2009 Energy secretary skips Obama health care addressWASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu did not attend President Barack Obama's health care address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night. Chu missed the speech as part of a long-standing practice of having a member of the president's Cabinet stay away as a precaution in order to maintain a presidential line of succession in the event of a catastrophic attack or accident at the Capitol.

August 29th, 2009 EU signs trade pact with southeast African nationsBRUSSELS — The European Union signed a temporary trade pact Saturday with Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Madagascar calling for tariffs on European goods to be removed over the next 15 years. The four countries in southeast Africa have had full access to the EU consumer market — the world's biggest — since the start of 2008 for most goods.

August 16th, 2009 BOGOTA - Colombia hopes to sign a controversial pact with Washington that would allow US military forces to use up to seven bases on its territory, authorities have said. A source linked to Colombia's defence ministry told EFE Saturday that negotiations regarding the pact were wrapped up in Washington Friday and President Alvaro Uribe's government was expecting the pact to be formally signed "in two weeks".

August 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - US ambassador Timothy J. Roemer Wednesday allayed apprehensions in India over the defence equipment end-use monitoring pact, saying there is nothing in it that provides the US unilateral access to Indian bases.

July 24th, 2009 Venezuela upset by pending US-Colombia pactCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez says Colombia should not underestimate Venezuela's concerns over the neighboring country's decision to forge stronger military ties with the United States. From Venezuela's point of view, Chavez said Thursday, it's like "opening your house for your neighbor's enemy." Colombian officials have said Venezuela should not be concerned by a pact being negotiated to let U.S.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said that agreement with the US on defence matters was the result of three years of tough bargaining from both sides. Antony said this after attending an army hospital function in national capital on Wednesday.

April 7th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India, part of the Mahindra Group, is planning major expansion in Kerala, including developing a brand new resort in Wayanad district and increasing the number of its home stays to 150 by the year-end, a top official said. Declining to reveal the investment details of the resort project in Wayanad in northern Kerala, Mahindra Holidays managing director Ramesh Ramnathan told IANS on phone from Chennai that the project was still on the drawing board.

March 24th, 2009 KOLKATA - After days of rumblings among the grassroot workers of the Congress and Trinamool Congress about the alliance between the two parties, leaders of both outfits Tuesday called for a united effort to defeat the state's Communist-led Left Front in the Lok Sabha polls. 'I know there is discontent among Congress workers who feel our party has got fewer number of seats than it deserves.

March 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Hours after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) announced their seat sharing arrangement for Bihar, the Congress Tuesday termed the pact as 'unacceptable'. As per the seat sharing formula for Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats, 25 will go to the RJD, 12 to the LJP and three to the Congress.

March 16th, 2009 RANCHI - Legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Monday said they were against any poll pact with their partners in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for the Lok Sabha elections if the JMM was not allowed to form the government in Jharkhand. 'Our party had decided not to form an alliance with any UPA partners if our government was not formed in the state.

March 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Party will contest 14 out of 42 seats of West Bengal, where as its ally the Trinamool Congress (TC) will contest from 28 seats. Announcing the seat sharing agreement, AICC in-charge of West Bengal K Keshav Rao that they have entered into a seat sharing pact with the TC with the objective of ending the over 30 years of misrule of the CPI-M, which has shattered the economy of West Bengal.

March 13th, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal's ruling Left Front Thursday termed the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance for the Lok Sabha elections as an unholy nexus and asked them to clarify the basis of their understanding. 'People of West Bengal don't know on what basis the Congress and Trinamool joined hands in the Lok Sabha elections,' Left Front chair Biman Bose said.

March 12th, 2009 GORAKHPUR - Congress General Secretary and UP in-charge Digvijay Singh on Monday said it would wait till the last moment for an amicable seat sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi party in Uttar Pradesh. His statement came a day after the SP virtually ended the possibility of an alliance with the Congress.

March 6th, 2009 GUWAHATI - There is jubilation among supporters and leaders of the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam over their poll alliance, but the ruling Congress party claims it is unfazed by the opposition pact. On Thursday, BJP announced a pact under which it will contest 18 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam during the general elections next month, while the AGP would field candidates in six constituencies.

March 6th, 2009 GUWAHATI - Even as supporters and leaders of the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam are celebrating their poll alliance, the ruling Congress party insists that it is unaffected by the opposition pact. On Thursday, BJP announced a pact under which it will contest eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam during the general elections next month, while the AGP would field candidates in six constituencies.